Women’s rights champion given honorary degree

FAS
seeks to foster, strengthen and promote the leadership role of women in
conflict prevention, management and resolution on the African continent.

In
addition to her role at FAS, Ms Diop is Special Envoy for Women, Peace and
Security at the African Union Commission. She has recently been mandated to
investigate the human rights violations and other abuses committed during the
armed conflict in South Sudan.

In
2011, Time Magazine declared Ms Diop to be one of the 100 most influential
people in the world. She has led numerous peace-building programmes, and has
taken election-observing teams into post-conflict countries such as Liberia.

Ms Diop
has also led several peace missions into crisis zones, and has facilitated
peace negotiations amongst women, including those in Burundi and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.

She played
an instrumental role in achieving gender parity within the African Union
Commission in 2003.